BOB WASHBURN

Unexpected Encounters

That Changed My Life

Bob Washburn

As a graduate of Appalachian State University and Boone resident since the 1980s, Bob Washburn is a familiar face to many. Washburn began his banking career in North Wilkesboro, NC, and later moved to Boone to work with First Union and High Country Bank. Washburn is currently the President of Lifestore Banking and Insurance. He married Glenda Woodring in 1982. He and Glenda are the proud parents of four children and one grandson.

Most of us had summer jobs growing up. In 1979, mine took place in the Midwest. I spent the summer in Nebraska, with the exception of one week driving across the Missouri River to some little towns near Council Bluffs, Iowa. You don’t know when life changing events are going to occur, they just sneak up on you, and that happened to me during my week driving into Iowa.

That year, I took a job selling books door to door. It wasn’t nearly as easy as what the company’s propaganda portrayed. They wanted you to make 20 sales calls per day. So you had a few minutes to develop a relationship with a complete stranger, get invited into their home, and then get them to decide to part with some money to purchase books that they didn’t even know they wanted or needed before you knocked on their door.

One day, I knocked on a door and was greeted by a gentleman who invited me in without asking what I was there for. Clearly not the typical sales call. As I walked in, I saw that he was an older gentleman, near retirement age. He offered me a seat and asked if I’d like something to drink. Once again, not typical.

serving people is look to see what is important to them. People display items in their living room that tell a little of their story. I noticed a Bible resting on a nearby reading stand. I thought that was a little odd because he would have to stand to read. After taking a few minutes to get to know each other he shared with me that he was a pastor and was working on his message for Sunday.

He asked me if he could share the central passage from the sermon he was preparing; his Bible was already open to this passage. He went to his stand and read me Romans 10:9-10 which says:

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

To my astonishment, I started to cry. The man asked me about my relationship with God, and I told him that I had gone to church since I was a child; I’d even attended confirmation class and worked as a counselor at a church camp the prior summer! He explained that going to church and having a “head knowledge” of Jesus Christ was not the point. Even though the head knowledge is important, it is worthless if you don’t have Him in your heart.

At that moment, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.

At the time, I was in a good place. I had a job I enjoyed, and I wasn’t drunk, broke, or destitute in any way. I wasn’t aware of my need for God. But it took this man talking with me for me to realize that it is possible to be a good, responsible guy and not be saved.

When your eyes are opened to the enormity of the gift that Christ has for you, and you understand how far short you fall, the feeling is overwhelming. So, sitting on a sofa in a little town in western Iowa, a pastor working on his message for Sunday took the time to share Christ with me and when I left his home I was a new creation. It still blows me away to think his Bible just happened to be open to that particular passage in the book of Romans.

Growing in the Lord, of course, is another journey. Three years after this, I married the young lady I was dating in college, and today we have four children. In addition to my wife, there were many men whose influence has helped me to grow in the Lord.

Part of growing in the Lord is sharing the good news of Jesus and assisting those in need. In 2006, I went to Sri Lanka with a group from church, including my youngest son, Sam. We were there to assist with tsunami relief efforts. While it had been 18 months since the tsunami had hit this island nation they were still struggling to build back, as over half a million people had been left homeless in a nation of 19 million. The experience was like nothing else I’ve been through. In the midst of what we would consider poverty were a people that were gracious, hospitable, and constantly expressed gratitude for our presence. Throughout the trip, we got to meet with the owners of the homes that were being constructed by local construction workers, with financial support from the North Carolina Baptist Men. We were also assisting with the construction but the local church and workers were accomplishing the majority of the work. Toward the end of our time there, one man, with the help of an interpreter, asked me, “Why did you come all this way to help build my house?”

So I got to share the gospel with a stranger, just like a stranger had shared it with me in 1979. I told him what Jesus had done for me and why he wanted me to come there to help build his house. That even though a terrible event had taken the lives of many and left many more without homes, God loved him and cared for him. I fully believe that God placed both of these men in my life for a purpose.

As I spoke with that man in Sri Lanka, I was crying, and he was crying. The man did not make a commitment to Christ at that time, but I believe he and I crossed paths for a reason, and I know the pastor in Sri Lanka has, through this process, seen many come to Christ. My prayer is that each one they minister to will also accept this gift of salvation through Christ Jesus.

When I knocked on that stranger’s door in the summer of 1979, I had no idea that what I found inside would change the course of my life. I praise God that he has used me, even if just a little, to share the good news. Written with Laine Isaacs & Ben Cox ~